With Manchester City sitting at the top of the EPL and having put in one of their best ever performances in Europe against Sevilla in midweek Andy Gray and Richard Keys who front beIN Sports’ Premier League coverage look at Manuel Pellegrini, who takes on Aston Villa on Sunday, and how he is handling what could be his final season in charge at the Etihad Stadium with Pep Guardiola tipped to take over.
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Andy Gray: Pellegrini is having his best season so far in the Premier League but it’s a case of him learning rather than changing the way he does his job. No matter how good you are as a manager you can’t just stroll into the Premier League and be an instant success. Louis van Gaal has discovered that.
I have always like Pellegrini because he wants to win games every time his side walks out onto the pitch. He is hardly ever negative and is prepared to risk losing a goal to score one and I like that. Okay, sometimes it might backfire but it’s an attitude I wish young coaches would adopt instead of all this over analytical rubbish of coaching by numbers.
Most modern coaches lose the touch and feel of the game but Pellegrini has maintained that by coaching the old fashioned way and I applaud him for that. It must be galling for Manchester United fans to look across the road and watch Man City playing football the way their team used to play under Sir Alex Ferguson – attacking the game, taking a chance and going all out for a win. That must be tearing them apart.
Now City have progressed to the last 16 in the Champions League maybe we will see him adopt a more pragmatic approach but when you have got Sergio Aguero, David Silva, Wilfried Bony, Kevin De Bruyne, Raheem Sterling, Yaya Toure and Fernandinho who has had a fantastic start to the season why would you even consider a defensive policy?
Pellegrini has changed the attitude at the club this season and they now seem like a well sorted squad. Pellegrini also did some great business in the summer with Sterling, Fabian Delph, and then De Bruyne, young talent which is going to be there for a few seasons so they are in good shape for the future.
The Chilean’s success at the moment is ironic because it could well be his last season at City with the general view being that Pep Guardiola will be in charge next year.
If he goes on to win the Premier League title and the Champions League it will present City’s owners with a difficult situation but we have seen managers sacked before after a trophy winning campaign. Vincent del Bosque at Real Madrid springs to mind. But, you know what, I reckon Pellegrini would love to win the double and then walk away with a terrific cv.
67.8% – Manuel Pellegrini has now overtaken Jose Mourinho as the PL manager with the best all-time win % (managers with 50+ games). Eclipse.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) November 4, 2015
They play Villa on Sunday and, although they are in good form, it will be tough. Villa players will want to produce for their new manager Remi Garde and will be up for this. However, I don’t think they have enough to stop Pellegrini’s men as they march on. 1-2.
Richard Keys: Pellegrini looks more relaxed to me. There is almost a resignation about him that this is his last year at City so he is going to enjoy it.
I always felt it was a difficult dressing room but I think Pellegrini has reeled in Vincent Kompany. He has let him know who is boss and that has made a difference. Kompany was a destabilising influence, Samir Nasri was a problem, Edin Dzeko was another pain in the backside but he has been off-loaded and as a result I think the manager is more in control now than he has ever been.
What I really like about Pellegrini is that he doesn’t get caught up in all the nonsense that Mourinho does. He is a gentleman and it is a pleasure to watch City play. As for Sunday, Villa won’t trouble City. 0-2.
